Rotary furnace.



No. 792,169. PATENTED JUNElB. 1905.

. S. ROGKWELL.

ROTARY FURNACE.

APPLICATION 11mm D110: 29, 19m,

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/NVENTOR )7^ lorney I .Mai www ro www ff a j No. 792,169. PATENTED JUNE 13, 1905. W. S. ROCKWBLL.

ROTARY PURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED DEO. 29. 1903.

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/VVENTOR I W/ www; l' Y l j PATENTED JUNE 13, 1905.

W. S. ROCKWELL.

ROTARY FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED 1330.29. 1903.

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WTNESSES A Hawley PATENTED JUNE 13, 1905. W. S. BOCKWELL. ROTARY FURNACE.

APPLIGATION FILED DEG. 29, 190s.

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INVENTOR lINiTEn STATES Patented June 13, 1905.

PATENT OEETCE.

IVALTER S. ROOIVELL, OF NEV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO ROOIUNELL ENGINEERING COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ROTARY FURNACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 792,169, dated June 13, 1905.

Application filed December 29,1903. Serial No. 187,024.

To nl] nf/1,0711, it mfr/U concern.-

Be it known that I, WALTER S. RooKwELL, a resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Furnaces, and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improved rotary furnace, the object of the invention being to provide two independent rotary melting-chambers located end to end in close contact with each other, so that the products of combustion from one chamber will pass through the other to give to ingots placed in the farther chamber a preliminary heating, while melting the metal in the nearer chamber.

A further object is to provide outlet-ports between the ends of both chambers and burner-nozzles at the outer end of both chambers, which burner-nozzles are constructed to be operated separately or simultaneously.

lVith these objects in view the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, as will be more fully hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is aviewin longitudinal section, illustrating my improvements. Fig. 2 is a top plan view. Fig. 3 is an end view. Fig. 4 is a view in cross-section, showing the chamber tilted to a position to pour the molten metal therefrom; and Fig. 5 is a view in cross -section, showing a chamber opened to facilitate the lining thereof.

1 1 represent end standards, and 2 an intermediate standard supporting my improved melting-chambers 3 and 4. These chambers are preferably of general elliptical shape in longitudinal section, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, and each of which comprises a metal shell composed of two halfsections hinged together at one edge, as shown at 5, and having their abutting flanges 6 at their opposite .lever 23 to open the same.

edges firmly secured by screws or bolts 7, one section forming the lower half of the chamber and the other the upper half thereof. The shells near their outer ends are made with annular shoulders or tracks 8, supported to turn on rollers 9, mounted in brackets at the upper ends of standards 1, and 5 5 beveled annular shoulders or tracks 10 are provided around the shells near their meeting ends, supported to turn on beveled rollers 11, mounted in brackets at the upper end of standard 2, the bevel of said annular shoulders and rollers always tending to hold the abutting ends of the shells or chambers tight together, yet permit free independent turning of either and also permit of any necessary expansion of the chambers relative to each other. The outer end of each shell has secured thereto a worm-Wheel 13, meshing with a Worm 14, secured on a shaft 15, mounted in standard l and carrying a beveled pinion 16, with which a beveled gear 17 on a drive-shaft 18 meshes, said drive-shaft having a suitable hand-wheel 19 thereon to facilitate the turning thereof and the rotary movement of the chamber.

Each upper section of the chambers 3 and 4 has a central charging and pouring opening 20, normally closed by a door 24, hinged to lugs 22 on the shell and provided with a fixed These doors 24 are made with integral cam-shaped lugs 25 at opposite sides engaged bybifurcated or forked clamping-levers 26 to firmly secure the doors in closed position, and said levers are shouldered at their pivoted e'nds, as shown at 2-7, to limit their outward swinging movement and prevent them from interfering with they rotary operation of the shells or chambers.

Each door 24 has a central discharge-port 28, through which escape the Waste products of combustion, and these ports are normally closed by doors 29, hinged at one edge, as shown at 30, and secured in a closed position by means of cam-like lugs 31 at their opposite edges engaged by forked levers 32, and suitable handles 33 are rovided to permit them to be readily openedwhen the levers 32 are thrown back. These levers 32, like levers 26, are shouldered at their pivotal points to limit their backward swinging movement.

The doors 24 and 29 are formed hollow to receive a suitable lining of refractory ma-` apparatus and project beyond the hinge side` of the vfurnace to engage the ends or trunnions of the upper section and hold it in a horizontal position, and when in this open position both sections can be readily relined without removing the furnace or any of its arts from its supports. When the furnace 1s in. use, these bars which support the top section are removed.

At the outer ends of both chambers 3 and 4 fixed burners 34 and 35, respectively, are supported on standards l and. are adapted to direct a :flame through the contracted openings in the ends into the chambers and have suitable air and oil or gas supply pipes 36 and 37 communicating therewith.

rl`he operation of my improvements is as follows: lith the apparatus as shown in Fig. 1 products of combustion from burner 34 enter chamber 3 and the direct contact with metal therein quickly melts the same, the otherwise waste products of combustion passing into chamber 4 to give to the ingots in such chamber their preliminary heating and escape through port 28 of chamber 4, door 29 being open, the chamber 3 being turned from time to time seventy or eighty degrees in either direction to expose the metal to the hot wall of thc chamber. llhen the metal in chamber 3 is melted and heated to the desired degree, burner 34 is shut off and burner 35 started, door 29 of chamber 4 being closed, while door 29 of chamber 3 is opened to reverse the passage of the products of combustion. Chamber 3 is then partially revolved by means of the gearing above explained and door 24 opened, through which port 2l. the molten metal is poured into a suitable ladle or other receptacle below the same, when the chamber 3 is returned to its former position.

A fresh charge of ingots is next supplied throughopenings 2O into chamber 3, and door 24 of said chamber is closed, leaving door 2Q open for the escape of the products of combustion after heating the ingots therein. VVYhen the ingots in chamber 4 are melted, it is tilted in like manner, and it will be seen that with my improved apparatus the operation is practically continuous, for while one chamber is being emptied and recharged the other is performing its melting operation and the otherwise waste products of combustion are utilized to give to the ingots in the farther chamber their preliminary heating.

lf for any reason a large quantity of molten metal is desired at one time, both burners 34 and 35 can be operated simultaneously, both doors 29 being opened, when of course there will be a waste of the products of combustion which would be utilized in the operation above described.

A great many changes might be made in the4 general form and arrangement of the parts described without departing from my invention, and hence l would have it understood that I do not restrict myself to the precise details set forth, but consider myself at liberty to make such slight changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention,what l claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A furnace comprising two communicating chambers mounted end to end, the said chambers being independently revoluble, and means for supplying fuel through the outer truunion of each chamber.

2. A furnace comprising two communicating chambers mounted end to end, the said chambers being independently revoluble,

and fuel-feeding ydevices and a door for each chamber.

3. A furnace comprising two chambers, each independently revoluble and mounted end to end and having contracted openings at both ends, whereby the products of combustion in one chamber pass into the other.

4. A furnace, comprising two chambers located end to end, each mounted to rotate and having charging and outlet ports between their ends, doors closing said ports and burners at both ends of said furnace.

5. A furnace, comprising two communicating chambers located end to end and each of a general elliptical shape in longitudinal section, burners at both ends of said furnace, and means for independently rotating said chambers.

6. A furnace, comprising two communicating chambers located end to end, rollers supporting said chambers to rotate thereon, means for independently rotating said chambers, burners at both ends of the furnace, and doors closing ports between the ends of both chambers.

7. A furnace, comprising two communicating chambers located end to end, tracks near the outer ends of said chambers, rollers on which said tracks are mounted, beveled tracks on the chambers near their meeting ends, and beveled rollers on which said beveled tracks are supported to tend to hold said chambers tightly together yet permit free rotary movement thereof.

8. A furnace comprising two communicat- IOO IIO

ing chambers mounted end to end, the said chambers being independently revoluble, means for supplying fuel to each chamber, a door closing a charging and pouring port in cach chamber, a second door closing a port in each of said first-mentioned doors, and independent means for securing the said doors in their closed positions.

9. Afurnace comprising a shell having hollow trunnions at its ends, the said shell and its trunnions being divided longitudinally into two half-sections hinged together, and means for locking the sections together.

10. The combination in a melting-furnace, of two separate chambers to receive the charges of material, said chambers being in dependently revoluble on a common axis, and there being a passage from one chamber to the other; together with means to introduce gaseous or liquid fuel into either one of said chambers.

11. A furnace comprising a shell having cylindrical trunnions, the said shell and trunnions being divided longitudinally into two sections, the said sections being hinged together and each provided at its meeting edge with an outwardly-projecting flange and means engaging the ianges for locking the sections together.

12. A furnace comprising a shell having hollow cylindrical trunnions at its ends, the said shell and its trunnions being divided longitudinally into two half-sections hinged together, each section of the shell being provided at its meeting edge with an outwardlyprojecting flange, and means engaging the flanges for locking the sections together.

13. A furnace comprising a shell having cylindrical trunnions or ends, the said shell and its trunnions being divided longitudinally into halfsections, the two sections of the shell being hinged together, means engaging and supporting the cylindrical trunnions and means for locking the two sections of the shell together.

111. A furnace comprising a shell having cylindrical trunnions or ends, the said shell and its trunnions being divided longitudinally into two sections, the two sections of the shell being hinged together, means supporting said shell, and means for supporting the upper section of the shell when the latter is in its open position.

15. A furnace comprising a shell having cylindrical trunnions or ends, the said shell and its trunnions being divided longitudinally into two sections, the sections of the shell being hinged together, means supporting said shell and removable means for supporting the upper section of the shell, when the latter is in its open position.

16. A furnace comprising a shell having cylindrical trunnions, the said shell and its trunnions being divided longitudinally into two sections, a pouring-opening located in one section of said shell, a hinged door over said opening and a hinged door for closing an opening in said first-mentioned door.

ln testimony whereof I have signed this specication in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

VALTER S. ROCKWELL.

Witnesses t S. W. FOSTER, S. G. NOTTINGHAM. 

